As Alexander opened his eyes and looked around, he found himself in an endless white void. The floor was solid yet made of no material he could recognize, each step echoed with the dull thud of bare feet on polished stone, empty of any discoloration on its surface. Dense clouds formed a wave-like pattern in the sky yet did not overshadow the area. Wherever Alex looked, the emptiness was brightly lit and clearly defined.
As Alex took in the surrounding area with awe, a pale blue holographic display materialized before him, accompanied by a familiar feminine voice.
Welcome Back, Alex.
Neuromuscular Electric Stimulation system
has been set per your normal exercise schedule.
You have (5) new messages from the following known contacts:
Mom (2)
Dad (1)
Cindy (3)
Do you wish to read them?
“Not now Alice, just load up CoC please. I’ve waited long enough damnit!” Alex replied anxiously.
Right away Alex.
As the last window dissolved into ethereal particles of light, animated three-dimensional words crept up from the floor as the game’s logo took shape, accompanied by an inspired orchestra score boomed out its theme song.
New windows sprung to life, drawing Alex’s attention to them.
Welcome to Clash of Crowns: Empires at War
Registered User Identified: Alexander Corvinus
Civilian Personal Virtual Intelligence Identified: AI-1C#351U7 “Alice”
24 Client-Side VI Cores detected.
4 in use, 20 unallocated.
Do you wish to grant Assistant Level Control Access of
Clash of Crowns: Empires at War
To VI “Alice”?
“Yes” Alex answered.
Alice’s voice sang out as more holographic windows replaced the previous ones.
Connection Established, Accessing new protocols.
Task Complete.
No current Avatar detected.
2 Avatar slots available.
do you wish to create your in-game avatar now?
“Hell yeah!” he yelled enthusiastically as Alex pumped his fists into the air and did a little dance.
Please select a race for your Avatar.
Note; Your choice will not affect the selection of your Kingdom’s initial starting race.
The pure white void was invaded with a spectrum of multicolored lights as dozens of near naked humanoid male bodies came into existence. The closest form was bathed in radiant white light while the others around and behind it looked ghostly. Alex knew that the Human race was the only initial option by default, the other races would have to be quested or purchased from the Cash Shop at ridiculous prices, in order to unlock the potential to use them. The more popular the race was during the Alpha and Beta’s, the more expensive it would be to purchase. Once unlocked a player would still require to pay a ‘Race Change’ fee of $50, unless they purchased the option during the creation of their Avatar.
The human form that stood before Alex was an exact copy of his own appearance, albeit mostly nude with the exception of a pair of simple leather ‘underoos’ for modesty.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
[Author’s Note: ALEX APPERANCE HERE, just can’t decide what he looks like yet… maybe you can give me some ideas]
He took the time to inspect the other forms, noting that they all shared his overall appearance with the exception of a few exotic features. Some had pointed, knife-like ears and others had more animalistic or inhuman appearances. Wings of various shapes, sizes and colorations were on display and all manner of tails, horns, claws, furs or scales colored in a multitude of hues could be seen.
“Right, have to purchase or complete a quest for additional Avatar Races.” Alex stated with a sigh.
Microtransactions are considered to be ‘Standard’ within the majority of modern AAA games. CoC itself was heavily built around the monetization of everything and anything, even after the initial purchase price of $60-120 dependent on what version was purchased.
This extends further beyond the Avatar Race Selection, to the races available for the actual units throughout the game. To make the situation worse and almost as if the developers intended to reward deeper pockets, the different races have different stat growth and abilities. Allowing customers who pay to unlock them to have a slight advantage over those that don’t purchase them.
“Open up the Cash Shop, please. I want to buy some options.” He requested, shortly before a new window materialized.
Alex began to browse through the many options, starting with the Avatar Race Selections. While Humans were at the top, the list included many entries such as; Goblins, Orcs, Elves, Half-Elves, Half-Orcs, Dwarves, Gnomes, Skeletons, Ghosts, Vampires. Dozens and dozens of races, from all forms of myth and fantasy, could be acquired and played to the pure joy of role-players everywhere.
Scrolling through the list, Alex touched the option for Beastkin (Wolf), bringing up additional dialogues with detailed information. While there were more human looking Beast-type races, Alex preferred the more anthropomorphic Beastkin variants over the more human-like Beastfolk.
Price $100, or ‘Completion of -The Dogs of War- Scenario Quest’ required to unlock. Warning: Use of an Avatar with ‘Significantly Altered Body Proportions’ and or ‘Reduced / Additional Limbs’ may cause temporary discomfort and or acute neurological disorders. Use caution when transitioning between your true body and your Avatar. Seek appropriate medical attention as required by law.
Alex closed the shop window once he had completed and verified the transaction. The line of humanoids shifted as he did, bringing the wolf forward, next to the Human and bathing it in a similar highlight.
“I chose the Wolf as my avatar.” Alex said assuredly, forcing the other humanoids to fade from existence as the light around the wolf reduced to normal levels.
Alice’s voice spoke out as a new holographic window winked into being.
Do you wish to customize your Avatar’s appearance?
“Yes” Alex stated.
A multitude of windows popped up around him displaying various portions of the Wolfman’s body.
Alex quickly discovered that there was a slider for almost everything and anything, allowing a massive amount of customization. With a grin, Alex set to work modifying his new body. He observed each change as he manipulated the controls upon the displays.
He Increased the wolf’s overall Hight to seven feet, while maintain even proportions. Muscles were thickened, increasing their definition. Alex then slightly lengthened the fingers and toes while also making them thicker. With a few swipes he changed the retractable nail options, removing the canine like nails and opting for a more human-like set, albeit slightly longer than normal and quite blade-like.
The Wolf’s ears were lengthened a tad while their angle was altered so they pointed slightly back, toward the rear of its head. This added a more feral look to the Avatar once the teeth were aligned to jut out from the top of its maw.
Alex was not satisfied with the default look of the fur so he shortened the hairs of the torso, while increasing the average number of hairs per-square-inch of the fur. He preferred the shorter fur as it revealed more muscle definition. However, he left the fur length on the rest of the wolf’s body alone. Moving to the color options, Alex painted his Avatar’s entire pelt pitch black, tracing slight highlights with a softer charcoal color.
“That’s enough, I guess.” Alex stated while taking one final look over the Avatar. Overall, he was satisfied with the changes and pressed the ‘Accept’ button and paying the ‘Customization’ fee of $25.
He felt no pain as his body started to radiate light while it morphed into the form of his chosen Avatar. When the light dispersed and his vision cleared, Alex took a tentative first step, nearly falling on his ass. The warning message was not kidding around when it cautioned him to take time in order to acclimate to a new body. Alex felt like he was walking on his toes and the balls of his feet whenever he moved.
It only took him moments to notice that the wagging sensation coming from behind him was his new fluffy tail. He spent an indeterminant period of time to fully explore his Avatar body with his hands. He was soft and fluffy everywhere he touched, yet his muscles were stiff and unyielding, hidden from sight just under the surface.
Alice’s voice soon broke his investigation.
You should move around during the rest of the customization process so that you can better adapt to your new body.
“Okay.” he managed to mumble quietly while he tried to maintain his balance, “Just don’t laugh at me when I fall.”
While you practice, the next task is to select your starting Talents. These Talents replace traditional character options found in most role-playing games.
They will provide both active or passive skills and abilities, as well as grow in power as you use them. While Clash of Crowns has no character levels, your Talents will level up as you gain experience.
Once a basic Talent reaches level 10 additional options will unlock, either enhancing the current Talent, creating a divergent Talent and or merging two or more similar Talents.
An example would be the [Blade] Talent unlocking the [Dagger], [Sword] and [Axe] Talents. These can further grow into [One-Hand Sword] or [Two-Handed Sword] Talents.
Talents can work together to give synergistic bonuses, such as; [Physical Damage] and [Sword] increasing melee attack power. Knives could be thrown by equipping [Dagger] and [Throw], or two daggers can be equipped at once with [Dagger] and [Dual Wield].
All basic Talents are available to all players, with the exception of Free-to-Play players restricted to a smaller selection. Consumable items can be purchased from the Cash Shop to enhance Experience Point growth rates by 5% / 10% / 25%. Free2Play players will have a natural penalty of 20%.
Alex browsed through yet another list before opening the Cash Shop and purchasing five additional Talent slots, up to the maximum of ten Talents. He then went back through the prior list and selected ones he hoped would fit a rogue-like build. After taking [Move Silently], [Hide] and [Perception], he moved on to combat focused Talents. [Blade] and [Archery] were quickly accepted, as was [Attack Increase] and [Defense Increase] followed by a racial exclusive Talent; [Thick Hide]. Alex rounded out his Avatar with two profession based Talents; [Mining] and [Scavenging].
“I think I’m done, Alice?” Alex Questioned his personal VI.
Congratulations Alex.
A new holographic window materialized before him as the White void around him began to fade.
Would you like to continue on to the Tutorial as there may have been significant changes since your last login?
Participating in the Tutorial will grant rewards based on your progress and efficiency.
Yes
No
“Yes.” Alex replied…